Category Archives: Past

Dr Kevin James, Professor of History, College of Arts, University of Guelph, and Scottish Studies Foundation Chair, January 25, 2022

 Scotland and the Union of 1707

Robbie Burns Celebration, Scottish Dress Encouraged

The Centre for Scottish Studies at the University of Guelph is the oldest – and the leading – academic unit in North America for research, graduate training, and teaching on Scottish history and Scottish culture.

Continue reading Dr Kevin James, Professor of History, College of Arts, University of Guelph, and Scottish Studies Foundation Chair, January 25, 2022

The Importance of Mining to Canada, Donald R. Lindsay, President and CEO, Teck Resources Limited, November 30, 2021

Don R. Lindsay is President and Chief Executive Officer of Teck Resources Limited, one of Canada’s leading mining companies. Lindsay studied mining engineering at Queen’s University (B.Sc., Hons.), and has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He worked underground in Uranium City, Saskatchewan, and was a foreman at the Iron Ore Company of Canada.
Continue reading The Importance of Mining to Canada, Donald R. Lindsay, President and CEO, Teck Resources Limited, November 30, 2021

The Tigray Conflict – David Ross (Ottawa) – October 26, 2021

David Ross has just returned to Canada from northern Ethiopia where he worked from March until September as an access and civil-military coordination officer. Contracted by RedR Australia to the United Nations  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), David facilitated humanitarian access in Tigray Region, an area severely disrupted by conflict since November 2020. The emergency is vast, complex, and often dangerous. Moreover, the pressures caused by the several hundred thousand people who have flooded into cities and internally displaced person camps, continue to be immense. David  worked alongside many hard-working, innovative and committed humanitarians who made the tour of duty all the more fulfilling. Continue reading The Tigray Conflict – David Ross (Ottawa) – October 26, 2021

Kamran Khan MD, FRCPC, MPH, Scientist, Founder, CEO at BlueDot Inc. September 28, 2021

Dr. Kamran Khan is an infectious disease physician with training in public health and preventive medicine based at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. After completing his training in infectious diseases, preventive medicine, and public health at Cornell, Columbia, and Harvard, he returned to Toronto just before SARS crippled the city during the 2003 outbreak. Deeply motivated by this event, Dr. Khan has dedicated his career to finding solutions that help the world better prepare for and respond to tomorrow’s infectious disease threats.

He is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. His research interests focus on the globalization of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases.
Continue reading Kamran Khan MD, FRCPC, MPH, Scientist, Founder, CEO at BlueDot Inc. September 28, 2021

May 18, 2021, Anti-Racism and Inclusion, Toronto’s Building Back Stronger Report, co-chaired by Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson and Blake Goldring, Executive Chairman, AGF Management Ltd.

Be inspired to act hearing the city’s Economic and Culture Recovery Advisory Group report, including their Anti-Racism and Inclusion recommendations, and learn about an innovative mentor-ship program for Black youth.

Toronto Councillor Michael Thompson

Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson is Chair of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. Now in his fifth term as Councillor, Michael has earned a reputation as one of Toronto’s hardest working and most effective political leaders.

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In 2006, as Chair of the Scarborough Community Council, he led the campaign to create the first ever TTC transit strategy for Scarborough, a strategy designed to significantly expand and enhance public transit services for all Scarborough residents. Throughout his years on Council, Michael’s unrelenting drive for public safety in the face of increased gun violence ultimately led to the development of a city-wide Community Safety Plan, a GTA-wide police task force on guns and gangs, an increase in the numbers of police officers in the street, and a new young offender program designed to divert young people into jobs instead of jail.

Under the banner of “getting things done,” Michael is known to his constituents as a community builder committed to bring people together in a spirit of collaboration. He has led and assisted in the formation of local community associations, youth leadership initiatives and Business Improvement Areas, and holds regular public meetings to engage residents throughout his ward.

In addition to a strong focus on resolving local issues and serving his constituents, Michael’s commitment to developing Toronto’s city-wide economy is longstanding. In his first term in office, he spearheaded the creation of the Wexford Heights Business Improvement Area and established a Job Fair that annually brought thousands of job seekers together with dozens of employers.

He maintains a widespread network of business relationships that has helped the City to enhance business retention, promote growth and increase private sector employment. His active engagement with business has helped speed the launch of new business ventures, resolved business/residential conflicts and gained business participation in a wide range of community-building initiatives. In recent years, the international connections he has developed and nurtured have played a significant role in attracting billions of dollars in new investment to the City, contributing to a more robust economy and substantial job creation.

Recently, Michael was a key member of a Toronto project team that successfully lobbied executives of Collision, one of the world’s leading high technology conferences, to choose Toronto as the conference’s home for 2019 – 2021, bringing 25,000 technology executives and investors to the City and injecting tens of millions of dollars into Toronto’s economy.

Michael is a firm believer in the critical value of culture as a builder of strong communities. When he first took office, he co-founded the Taste of Lawrence Avenue East Festival, which brings together tens of thousands of people each year to experience local performing arts and cuisine. In 2013, he led the City’s efforts to create a new arts and culture plan that provided a bold, new roadmap for cultural vitality, strengthened arts spending and launched a new era of collaboration among arts and culture groups across the City. Michael was also the first Chair of Toronto’s Music Advisory Committee, and played a key role in efforts to attract international film and television productions and studio investments to Toronto.

Michael received his public school education in Scarborough, and his BA from Concordia University in Montreal. Prior to entering politics, he earned his business credentials as an entrepreneur in the business and financial services sector. In 2017, he successfully completed the ICD Directors Education Program offered by the Rotman School of Management and Institute of Corporate Directors.

He is the recipient of the African Achievement Award for Excellence in Politics, the York University International Award, the Jain Society of Toronto Community Award, the Bob Marley Award and the Bob Marley Lifetime Achievement Award.

He continues to work with a number of charitable organizations including participation in the LIUNA Local 506 scholarship fund.
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Blake C. Goldring
Blake C. Goldring, C.M., M.S.M., CD, LL.D., CFA, Executive Chairman, AGF Management Limited

Blake C. Goldring joined AGF in 1987 and held a series of senior positions before being appointed President in 1997, CEO in 2000, and Chairman in 2006. Under his leadership, AGF has grown to be a premier independent asset management company with operations in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining AGF, he worked in corporate banking for a major Canadian bank. Mr. Goldring sits on a number of private company and not-for-profit boards including the CD Howe Institute and the Canadian Film Centre and is the founder of Canada Company: Many Ways to Serve, a charitable, non-partisan organization created to connect business and community leaders with Canada’s military.

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Blake has received numerous honours in recognition of his personal and professional achievements. Most recently, in December 2018, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

He holds an Honours BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from INSEAD in France. He is also a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, a CFA charterholder and a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. [/bg_collapse]

April 27, 2021, Sarwar A Kashmeri, “Between the grape & a hard place: America-Canada-China”

Sarwar Kashmeri is an international relations specialist, author, and commentator, noted for his expertise on U.S. global strategy and national security. He speaks frequently before business, foreign policy and military audiences. He is the host of Polaris-Live, featuring 30 minute YouTube live conversations on the business and geopolitical impact of China’s rapid rise to superpower status. Continue reading April 27, 2021, Sarwar A Kashmeri, “Between the grape & a hard place: America-Canada-China”

Dr. Michael Verbora MD, Medical Use of Cannabis, March 30, 2021

The Medical Use of Cannabis

Dr. Michael Verbora MBA, MD, is the Chief Medical Officer, Aleafia Health, a Canadian Producer of medical cannabis and cannabinoid research; an Assistant Professor, McMaster University; and a Student Health Physician, Seneca College.

A member of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids, Doctors for Responsible Access and the Canadian Pain Society, to date, Dr. Verbora has completed over 5,000 cannabinoid therapy consultations, and is a global medical expert in the field of cannabinoid therapy. He has given over one hundred presentations on cannabinoid therapy, including internationally to government, parliament and regulators.
Continue reading Dr. Michael Verbora MD, Medical Use of Cannabis, March 30, 2021

Ian Dejardin, Executive Director, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, February 23, 2021

A Like Vision:
What forces molded
the Group of Seven?

Ian A C Dejardin is an art historian, exhibition curator and museum professional.

From April 2017, Ian has held the position of Executive Director for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario. In 2005 he succeeded Desmond Shawe-Taylor as Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery having held the position of Curator of that Gallery’s famous permanent collection of European Old Master paintings from 1998. While at Dulwich, Ian co-curated many exhibitions:Henry Moore at Dulwich Picture Gallery (2004); Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven (2011); Emily Carr: From the Forest to the Sea (2014); and Vanessa Bell (2017), the latter two exhibitions in collaboration with Sarah Milroy, with whom he has also co-curated David Milne: Modern Painting (2018; at Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection).
Continue reading Ian Dejardin, Executive Director, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, February 23, 2021

Jon Allen, Senior Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, “Values vs Interests in Canadian Foreign Policy”, January 26, 2021

Born in Winnipeg in 1950, Jon Allen (LL.B., University of Western Ontario, 1976; LL.M., International Law, University of London School of Economics, 1977) joined the then Department of External Affairs in 1981.

In addition to postings abroad in Mexico City (1983-85), New Delhi (1989-92) and Washington (1997-2001), Mr. Allen spent his early career in the Legal Bureau where he represented Canada in disputes under the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and worked in the areas of human rights, humanitarian and environmental law.
Continue reading Jon Allen, Senior Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, “Values vs Interests in Canadian Foreign Policy”, January 26, 2021

John Anderson Fraser, What to do about China, November 24, 2020

For our third Whiff@Home meeting, we welcomed back John Anderson Fraser to speak on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 to answer the timely question “What to do about China!“. 

John last spoke to us 10 years ago this month, when his topic was “Through a glass darkly: Why academics (and journalists) should never try to predict anything“.  [You can see that meeting notice in this Internet Archive Wayback Machine captured page.]

John Fraser has been a reporter, columnist, editor, ombudsman and benefactor. Fraser has lived as diverse a journalistic career as anyone in Canada. His extraordinary legacy spans six decades of the modern news media era in Canada.
Continue reading John Anderson Fraser, What to do about China, November 24, 2020